(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dyeing of textiles and, more particularly, to a method of applying a lubricant to a plurality of yarn packages directly in a package dyeing machine during the dyeing process.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Presently, yarn is wrapped on dye springs or dye tubes, put into vats, dyed, dried and rewound onto paper tubes for shipment. During the rewinding process treatment aid,s such as lubricants, are added as the yarn is rewound. There are significant costs to rewind the yarn onto the paper tubes and apply the treating agents. These costs include the machinery, time, labor and the cost of the tube or spring itself. These costs can approach twenty-cents per pound of yarn which significantly adds to the cost of the final product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,232, issued to Negola et al., discloses a method and apparatus for treating yarn in package form with a yarn treating agent to modify the physical and/or chemical characteristics of the yarn. The invention includes the steps of introducing the agent at selected portions of the outer surface of the package and then infusing the agent into the package with a heated fluid applied under pressure. For example, a dye acceptance modifier such as a resist or the dyestuff itself may be introduced to the ends of the package and a heated fluid, such as steam, for a time sufficient to cause the resist and dyes to penetrate the package and contact individual strands of yarn or fibers and to set the resist or dyes as needed. However, the method and apparatus as taught by Negola et al. envisions treating individual packages of yarn rather than in the vat itself and requires a heated fluid to carry the agent into the package.
In addition to the costs of applying lubricants and other treating agents while re-running the yarn, there also has been an increasing sensitivity to the volatility of chemicals added during the treatment of the yarn. Specifically, yarns and knitted and woven fabrics are now required by most U.S. and foreign automobile manufacturers to pass "fogging" tests which measure the susceptibility of the fabric to produce volatile chemicals which may condense onto the interior surfaces and glass of new automobiles. Accordingly, lubricants which are added to yarns now must both give excellent frictional values and lubricity numbers to the yarn but, as importantly, allow the yarn to pass the manufacturer's fogging test.
Thus, there remains a need for a new method of lubricating the yarn directly in the package dyeing machine during the dyeing process while, at the same time, imparting excellent frictional values, thereby allowing the yarn to be shipped directly without rewinding. In addition, there remains a need for a lubricant for use in the above process which provides excellent frictional values and lubricity numbers to the yarn and, in addition, also allows the yarn to pass automotive manufacturer's fogging tests.